In today’s construction news, read about how the Census Bureau of the Commerce Department announced a 0.2% increase in construction spending on Monday, following a revised 0.2% increase in July. Meanwhile, new data shows that prior to a historic government shutdown in August, non-residential construction investment in the US decreased. On the other hand, one of the biggest and busiest construction sectors in the country, Texas, is facing labor shortages as infrastructure and industrial demand increase and immigration declines. Finally, two more vessels are being constructed for owners in Florida and Scotland, while a new ferry has been handed to a Russian operator.
August Sees an Increase in US Construction Spending
Original Source: US construction spending rebounds in August
As rising mortgage rates slowed single-family homebuilding, U.S. construction spending unexpectedly rose in August, likely due to home improvements.
The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau reported 0.2% construction spending growth on Monday after a revised 0.2% increase in July. Reuters economists expected construction spending to fall 0.1% after a 0.1% drop in July.
August spending down 1.6% year-over-year. The record 43-day federal government shutdown delayed the October 1 report. The first of the delayed reports was issued, with September’s employment data due on Thursday.
Private construction spending rose 0.3% in August. Residential building investment rose 0.8%. But new single-family dwelling spending fell 0.4%. Multi-family housing spending, a modest part of the housing industry, climbed 0.2%.
Renovations likely drove residential construction growth due to the fall in single-family construction investment.
Freddie Mac statistics revealed that mortgage rates fell from August highs as the Federal Reserve resumed interest rate reduction, which could increase construction activity in September.
Mortgage rates have since stopped falling as U.S. central bank officials showed reluctance to lower rates next month. A weak labor market and high housing inventory in August may deter builders from building new homes.
Private office and factory investment declined 0.3% in August. Public construction spending remained constant. State and local government construction spending was steady, while federal spending fell 0.8%.
US Non-residential Building Spending Fell before Shutdown
Original Source: US non-residential construction spending went negative prior to government shutdown
According to new data, US non-residential construction investment fell in August before a historic government shutdown.
ABC reports that non-residential spending fell 0.2% in August compared to July, based on US Census Bureau data delayed by the 43-day shutdown.
ABC reported $1.24 trillion in seasonally adjusted annualized non-residential spending.
Ten of the 16 non-residential segments had monthly spending declines from record highs. Public non-residential construction spending fell 0.1% in August, while private spending fell 0.3%.
In August 2025, non-residential building spending fell 1.8% from 2024.
Residential spending rose 0.8% monthly but fell 1.8% annually.
ABC chief economist Anirban Basu stated, “Non-residential construction spending contracted for the third time in four months in August and is down 1.5% year over year.
In 2025, manufacturing and commercial have been sluggish, while data center momentum is nearly solely constrained. According to ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator survey, 1 in 7 ABC members are contracted to work on a data center, and those contractors have much greater backlog than those that are not.
Basu said August data did not reflect the shutdown or the “cost-raising potential” of tariffs applied at the start of the month.
A downturn in public sector construction might lead to a particularly challenging few quarters for the industry, he noted. Private non-residential business is crumbling under high borrowing prices, abnormally elevated uncertainty, and rising materials costs.
Immigration Slowdown Affects Texas Construction Workforce, Dallas Fed Says
Original Source: Dallas Fed Flags Immigration Slowdown Impact on Texas Construction Workforce
The Texas construction industry, one of the largest and most active in the nation, confronts workforce difficulties as immigration slows and infrastructure and industrial demand rise.
A recent Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas analysis reveals that lower international migration is now a measurable drag on statewide job growth for all economic sectors, raising the stakes for construction already relying on foreign-born workers.
In its October Southwest Economy study, “Slower Immigration, Population Growth Weigh on Texas Job Gains,” the Dallas Fed ascribed much of Texas’s slowing job growth to smaller populations and immigration inflows.
Slower immigration and population growth explain half of Texas job growth’s drop this year, the bank noted.
The authors noted that enterprises “report increased difficulty hiring and retaining foreign-born workers amid changing immigration policies,” which may be overstated because the study does not directly sample construction firms.
Verified by Third Party
New American Immigration Council employment statistics shows why the sector is struggling. The organization’s 2022 Texas industry assessment on the state’s construction workforce reported that immigrants made up 40% of its workers, compared to 17.2% of the state’s population.
According to the report, “immigrants play a vital role” in the Texas construction sector, especially in metropolitan areas where companies use both permanent and temporary foreign-born labor to meet demand.
Federal labor and demography data emphasize the structural challenge. In the 2024 Foreign-Born Workers Summary, the BLS noted that immigrants made up 19.2% of the civilian labor force and were “more likely than native-born workers to be employed in natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations.” That national pattern is accentuated in Texas.
Real-World Effects
These macroeconomic changes affect jobsites. As subcontractors struggle to replace experienced workers who have left or moved, contractors say keeping stable crews is becoming harder.
To meet pledges, firms report rising pay, extending overtime, and importing labor from neighboring states.
Public owners advancing multi-year plans face increased uncertainty that worsens inflation, permits delays, and materials lead times.
Statewide effects are significant. Texas contractors confront a smaller labor pipeline during compressed project deadlines due to major transportation, water, industrial, and energy projects.
Slower migration, more turnover, and increased hiring competitiveness are affecting sector bid tactics, risk pricing, and staffing planning.
The gap may endure, say economists. The Dallas Fed anticipates Texas job growth to stay below historical norms until immigration and population growth accelerate.
BLS predictions show sustained national reliance on foreign-born construction and maintenance workers, suggesting Texas—more dependent on immigrant labor than most states—may face deeper and longer-lasting limits.
Construction businesses and project owners have long seen the manpower dilemma as more than a demographic transition; it affects project execution.
Immigration inflows are unlikely to restore to previous levels, thus workforce demand will increasingly determine how Texas builds.
Construction of Cruise Ships and Scottish, Russian, and US Ferries
Original Source: Passenger Vessel News Roundup | November 18 – Cruise ship construction plus new ferries for Scotland, Russia and the US
One ferry was supplied to a Russian operator, while two others are being built for Florida and Scotland. A cruise line has ordered sister ships for two of its older ships.
New Shetland Islands Council of Scotland lifeline ferry keel laid by Parkol Marine Engineering.
The 1986-built Good Shepherd IV will be replaced by the new ferry, which Chartwell Marine detailed. It will connect Fair Isle to the Shetland mainland.
New ferry for Florida’s Fisher Island Community Association launched by shipbuilder
Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) of Panama City, Florida, floated a new Ro-Pax ferry ordered by southern Florida’s Fisher Island Community Association (FICA).
Falcon, built at ESG’s Allanton and Port St Joe facilities, will be delivered in spring 2026. Elliott Bay Design Group of Seattle will design.
Chantiers de l’Atlantique and MSC Cruises have agreed to build two more cruise ships for 2030 and 2031.
The seventh and eighth ships in a series that includes MSC World Europa, delivered in 2022, and MSC World America, delivered earlier this year.
Russia’s Neva Travel will launch four new Saint Petersburg ships in 2026.
Neva Travel has announced that four additional passenger ferries will operate in Saint Petersburg in 2026.
A Project 04580 32-metre catamaran ferry/tour boat, two Project 04710 27-metre sightseeing catamarans, and a Project 04240 22-metre tourist monohull will be added.
Russian transport business Neva Travel received a new catamaran ferry from state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation’s Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant.
Local engineering firm Forss Technology constructed Fort Shanets as the sixth ferry in the Project 04580 series to meet Russian Maritime Register of Shipping standards.
They can be commuter ferries and tourist shuttles.
Summary of today’s construction news
In summary, in August, investment in factories and private offices fell by 0.3%. Spending on public construction stayed the same. Federal spending on construction decreased by 0.8%, but state and local government spending remained stable.
Meanwhile, a decline in public sector construction could make the next several quarters especially difficult for the sector. Due to excessively high borrowing rates, unusually high levels of uncertainty, and growing material costs, private non-residential businesses are failing.
On the other hand, the personnel problem has long been viewed by construction companies and project owners as affecting project execution rather than just a demographic shift. Since it is doubtful that immigration inflows would return to their prior levels, Texas’s construction will increasingly be determined by workforce demand.
Finally, two further cruise ships will be built by MSC Cruises with French builders Chantiers de l’Atlantique, with delivery scheduled for 2030 and 2031. Along with MSC World America, which was delivered earlier this year, and MSC World Europa, which was delivered in 2022, the ships will be the seventh and eighth in a series.
